As there were suspected coronavirus-infected passengers aboard AirAsia India’s Pune-Delhi flight last Friday, the pilot-in-command after landing chose to come out of the plane through cockpit’s secondary exit, which is a sliding window.
An AirAsia India spokesperson said, “There was a case reported of suspected Covid-19 passengers aboard I5-732, Pune to New Delhi on 20th March 2020, seated in Row 1. The passengers were subsequently screened and tested negative.”
As a safety measure after landing, the aircraft was parked at a remote bay and suspected passengers disembarked from the front door, the spokesperson noted.
All other passengers, escorted by the crew, disembarked from the rear door of the aircraft, the spokesperson added.
“Crew in the cockpit self-quarantined till the cabin environment near the primary exit was ascertained to be safe. The Captain elected to disembark from the secondary exit using a secure trestle, given the close proximity of the seats from the cockpit,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson mentioned that aircraft was fumigated and a thorough disinfection and deep cleaning was carried out.
“Our crew are well trained for incidents of this nature and we would like to put on record our appreciation for their dedication in continuing to serve passengers with the utmost care in the current conditions,” the spokesperson noted.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
72 of the newly diagnosed people were Turkish nationals
Kingdom has taken considerable preventative steps
Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry reported a jump in coronavirus cases on Sunday of 119, which raises the total number in the Kingdom to 511.
Saudi Health Ministry spokesman Mohammed Abdelali said that 72 of the newly diagnosed people were Turkish nationals under quarantine in the holy city of Makkah after interacting with an infected compatriot.
“We are starting to see more cases linked to interactions… We advise everyone to stay home,” he told a news conference, adding that more than 4,000 people are under quarantine.
On Saturday, heads of foreign missions and senior diplomats thanked the Saudi government for the steps taken to contain the virus, with one envoy saying: “We have to fight the pandemic together at all levels.
The tally of cases in the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region now stands at more than 1,700. Bahrain reported a second death from the virus on Sunday, taking the region’s total to four.
The region has expanded measures to combat the spread of the disease. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have taken considerable preventative steps including halting international flights, suspending work at most institutions and closing public venues.
Other Gulf states have expanded precautionary measures.
Oman on Sunday banned public gatherings, limited staffing at state entities and shut currency exchange shops.
Kuwait on Saturday imposed a partial curfew nationwide and extended a work suspension for two weeks. Some supermarkets are allowing only 50 shoppers at a time, a Reuters witness said.
Qatar, where 481 coronavirus cases have been recorded mostly among migrant workers, is erecting checkpoints to enforce a ban on public gatherings.
(With Reuters)
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
– The government has advised states to enforce social distancing
– Railways has cancelled more than 3,000 trains and relaxed refund rules
– Rajasthan last night ordered a “full shutdown” until March 31
The coronavirus cases across the country took another huge jump on Sunday, touching 396 by 6 pm. The day’s spike was 81 – a shade above Saturday’s 79, said the Indian Council of Medical Research, the country’s nodal agency for COVID-19 testing. As the numbers spiked, the government tightened safety measures, shutting down passenger train service, including suburban trains. Metro services shut too. After Punjab and Rajasthan, Delhi and Arunachal Pradesh announced complete lockdown that halted public transport and all but essential goods and services. Bengal and Gujarat have announced partial lockdowns. Parliament will also adjourn on Monday after the finance bill is passed, sources told NDTV.
A 38-year-old man died at the Patna AIIMS who recently returned from Qatar, Bihar health secretary Sanjay Kumar said. Though the cause of death was renal failure, the man was COVID-19 positive, he added. One more death was reported from Mumbai. The patient, who was 63 years old, died of acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Delhi was placed under lockdown till March 31, shutting down public transport, sealing borders and closing shops. Metro will stop services till Mach 31. The Delhi Police have imposed prohibitory orders across the city, banning gatherings of more than four people — a rule that’s expected to affect the anti-citizenship law protests happening in the city.
The essential services that would remain open includes shops selling grocery, fruit and vegetables, milk, cooking gas supplies, telecom services, home-delivery of food, banks and ATMs, hospitals and pharmacies and 25 per cent buses of the Delhi Transport Corporation. Only people working for essential services will be allowed to use private transport.
The aviation regulator, DGCA countered Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s announcement suspending flights from the Delhi airport, saying domestic flights in and out of Delhi were not banned.
The railway board decided to stop the passenger train services and continue only with goods trains. The decision came after 12 passengers who travelled in trains on March 13 and 16 were found to be COVID-positive later.
Most states have decided to continue with the day-long “Janata curfew” at least overnight. The idea was to avoid crowds and practice social distancing – the only means of beating the virus.
Still, in a few pockets, people were seen gathering on streets and parks at 5 pm to show appreciation for those fighting COVID-19 by clapping and beating thalis – a process the Prime Minister suggested should be carried out from home. Photos and videos circulating online suggested that in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, a few policemen led one such procession.
Punjab and Rajasthan have ordered a “full shutdown” until March 31, suspending all public transport and closing malls and shops. Goa, one of India’s most popular holiday destinations, has shut down its borders to mass passengers and tourist vehicles.
Gujarat has announced a lockdown for four cities, Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, and Vadodara, until Wednesday. Only shops selling essentials like vegetables, dairy products, and medical items will remain open.
Bengal has also opted for a partial lockdown, announcing restrictions in all the urban areas of the state from 5 pm, Monday, to March 28 midnight. While a complete transport lockdown across the state has been announced, six districts have been totally shut to check the spread of the virus. Those who violate the shutdown may face arrest, authorities said.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also commented on this subject, warning the Prime Minister the Indian economy could be devastated by the coronavirus outbreak
Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted late Sunday night, after the end of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Janata (public) curfew”, to remind the centre that, despite the success of the 14-hour lockdown, the Indian economy still needed protection against the ravages of the novel coronavirus outbreak. In his tweet the former Finance Minister said “we now look to the central government to announce economic measures to deal with the consequences of COVID-19”.
Mr Chidambaram also congratulated the Chief Ministers of various states for locking down their respective territories in an effort to halt the spread of the COVID-19 virus. A number of states, including the national capital Delhi, have announced a complete shutdown that includes taking public transport off the streets, sealing borders and shutting non-essential services and shops
“The Janata curfew is over. The experience of today has motivated several CMs to declare a lockdown in many parts of their respective states. We now look to the central government to announce economic measures to deal with the consequences of COVID-19,” he tweeted.
Mr Chidambaram, one of the Modi government’s sharpest critics, had backed the “Janata curfew “in a column published today in The Indian Express, saying he was “duty-bound” to support the PM in the fight against a virus that has infected nearly 400 people and killed at least seven others.
That support, however, has not mitigated the veteran politician’s concern for the economy.
“The PM implied that the current economic slump was triggered by COVID-19; that is not true. The beginning of the decline of the growth rate of GDP pre-dates COVID-19,” he wrote in his column, pointing out that factories had laid-off workers and small producers were suffering cash flow problems.
“The government is responsible for managing the economic fallout due to coronavirus. Its first duty is to protect employment and wages,” Mr Chidambaram wrote.
Across the world countries affected by the virus have announced support for their economies.
The UK will spend 330 million pounds and the United States close to a trillion dollars, while European countries like France, Spain and Italy will all spend billions of euros.
So far the centre has yet to announce a plan, although the Prime Minister has set up a task force, under Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to study the impact of the virus on the economy.
On Friday Ms Sitharaman said a package for coronavirus-hit sectors would be announced “as soon as possible”. She did not, however, give a timeline for the same.
Individual states, however, have come out with relief packages, including BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, where daily wage labourers and construction workers will get Rs 1,000 per month. This morning Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said 72 lakh people would receive free rations and pension.
In addition to Mr Chidambaram, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has also reminded the centre of the need to support the economy. In tweets posted Sunday, she urged the centre to work with the RBI for a one-time restructuring of corporate debt and an “immediate economic stimulus”.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also commented on this subject, warning the Prime Minister that the Indian economy could be devastated by the coronavirus outbreak.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected several sectors of the economy, including the automotive. India’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti, has indefinitely shut factories in Haryana. Honda and Mahindra & Mahindra have suspended operations till March 31.
The pandemic also hit the stock markets, with both the Sensex and the Nifty suffering massive losses this month. They have rallied but analysts say the recovery is likely short-lived as the country, and indeed the world, goes into a lockdown to fight the virus.
The coronavirus outbreak originated in China’s Wuhan district in December last year and has swept the world, infecting over three lakh people in over 140 countries and killing over 10,000 others.
With input from PTI
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Countries can’t simply lock down their societies to defeat coronavirus, the World Health Organization’s top emergency expert said on Sunday, adding that public health measures are needed to avoid a resurgence of the virus later on.
“What we really need to focus on is finding those who are sick, those who have the virus, and isolate them, find their contacts and isolate them,” Mike Ryan said in an interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
“The danger right now with the lock downs if we don’t put in place the strong public health measures now, when those movement restrictions and lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the disease will jump back up.”
Much of Europe and the United States have followed China and other Asian countries and introduced drastic restrictions to fight the new coronavirus, with most workers told to work from home and schools, bars, pubs and restaurants being closed.
Ryan said that the examples of China, Singapore and South Korea, which coupled restrictions with rigorous measures to test every possible suspect, provided a model for Europe, which the WHO has said has replaced Asia as the epicentre of the pandemic.
“Once we’ve suppressed the transmission, we have to go after the virus. We have to take the fight to the virus,” Ryan said.
Italy is now the worst hit country in the world by the virus, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that Britain’s health system could be overwhelmed unless people avoid social interactions. British housing minister Robert Jenrick said that production of tests would double next week and ramp up thereafter.
Ryan also said that several vaccines were in development, but only one had begun trials in the United States. Asked how long it would take before there was a vaccine available in Britain, he said that people needed to be realistic.
“We have to make sure that it’s absolutely safe… we are talking at least a year,” he said.
Pulwama, March 22: Authorities in Pulwama has ordered the filing of an FIR (First Investigation Report) against a person from Awantipora Tehsil who misled the authorities by hiding travel history from Pakistan.
A case was recommended for registering on Sunday against the person who has tried to circumvent the screening and surveillance teams and went into hiding .
The case was recommended for registering under following sections:
– Section 269 IPC (unlawfully or negligently doing something which is likely to spread infection of any dangerous disease to life)
– Section 270 IPC (malignant act likely to spread infection of dangerous disease to life)
– Section 271 IPC (knowingly disobeying any quarantine rule)
– Section 188 IPC (for disobeying any Govt order)
District Authorities have appealed the general public to cooperate with the administration in this unprecedented situation and proactivey disclose their own travel history, of their relatives and of neighbors. The authorities have reiterated that concealment of travel history or circumvention of screening would coerce the authorities to invoke relevant sections of IPC and stringent action shall be intiated as per law.
Srinagar, Mar 22: Amid the swelling number of coronavirus cases in India, people across the Kashmir region observed the ‘janata curfew’ on Sunday on the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The nation-wide ‘Janata Curfew’ was observed across the kashmir region on Sunday as the shutdown is near total as most people remained indoors.
Officials said that Janata Curfew got an unexpected response from all walks of life in the entire region.
In kashmiri region, all the roads including the summer capital lal chowk wore a deserted look right from the morning with only those involved in essential services like milk vendors, policemen and scribes stepping out. Policemen in Srinagar were seen holding placards that read “Avoid social gatherings” and the likes, sending a strong message to the people not only for the day but for the days to come in battling the deadly virus that has claimed thousands of lives across the globe.
Reports from the districts said life had come to a standstill with people remaining indoors, and shops and other business establishments remaining shut. There was no movement of vehicles on both national and state highways.
Primer minister Narinder Modi in his address to the nation on Thursday, had appealed the countrymen to observe ‘janata curfew’ on Sunday from 7.00 am to 9.00 pm, avoiding social meeting and urging people to avoid all ‘non-essential’ travel.
“If possible, please call at least ten people every day and tell them about the ‘janta curfew’ as well as the measures to prevent coronavirus. Restrain is compulsory to protect ourselves and remain healthy. I request that for the coming weeks people should go out of their homes only if essential” PM Modi had said.
Meanwhile reports also said the strict restrictions across the Kashmir region will continue to combat with the covid 19.
Srinagar, March 22 (GNS): Six samples suspected to contain novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) have tested negative in Kashmir Valley even as six more persons were admitted to isolation facilities in CD hospital on Sunday.
Nodal officer for coronavirus control at SKIMS, Dr G H Yatoo told GNS that three test reports were received and included that of a contact of covid-19 patient who was admitted to SKIMS hospital on late Saturday evening.
Dr Yatoo, who is also HoD hospital administration of SKIMS, also informed that no person was admitted today at the isolation facility set up at the tertiary care hospital.
Meanwhile HOD CD Hospital Srinagar Dr. Naveed Nazir Shah told GNS that six more persons with symptoms like coronoavirus were admitted to the isolation facility set up at the hospital.
He said three sample reports were received and all of them came to be negative.
So far, only one person, a 67-year-old woman from Srinagar’s Khaniyar area, has tested positive for the coronavirus in Kashmir Valley. The number of such patients in Jammu is three.
Meanwhile the Government informed that 3938 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been enlisted for observation.
According to the daily media bulletin on novel coronavirus (COVID-19) 2727 persons have been kept under home quarantine while as 59 are in hospital quarantine.
Persons who are under home surveillance stand at 690 while as 462 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period.
It said that 240 samples have been sent for testing of which 229 tested came out to be negative and only four cases have tested positive, so far while as seven reports are awaited.
Meanwhile, a 24×7 toll free national helpline number 1075 has been activated for support, guidance, and response to health related queries on novel coronavirus disease. The government of Jammu and Kashmir has also set up helpline numbers in this regard: 0191-2549676(UT level Cell for J&K), 0191-2520982(Jammu Division),0194-2440283 and 0194-2430581(Kashmir Division).
The government has appealed that any person with travel history to COVID-19 affected countries or person in contact with such a traveller, whether they are having symptoms or not, must remain in 14 days home quarantine. If any person feels unwell having cough, fever or difficulty in breathing that person should avoid exposure to others and seek medical care at the earliest.
The Government has also urged the general public to maintain social distancing as it is the key to stop and prevent the spread of Covid-19 from those who are infected.
“The intervention includes remaining out of crowded settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible,” the Government advisory said.
Further, the Government has appealed people to not panic and take care of health and protect others.
“Public in general is advised to avoid un-necessary travel and use of public transport. Avoid un-necessary travel and use of public transport; avoid crowded places and large gatherings, do not spit in public. People must take basic precautions for personal hygiene; frequent handwashing with soap and observing coughing and sneezing etiquettes,” the Government advisory added. (GNS)
